She shrugs, reaching for her own mug. “Am I not allowed to be?”
“You are,” I answer. “Just…not used to it.”
Her eyes linger on me for a second too long. “Last night was, um, nice,” she says instead.
I nod. “Yeah.”
“I liked how quiet it was when I woke up,” she starts. “Felt kind of peaceful.”
My jaw tightens. Quiet isn’t peace. It’s just the pause before the next brutal wave of hell.
She hops up onto the counter, legs dangling, silk shorts riding up her thighs. “Alexei hasn’t called yet,” she adds casually.
Yet.
The word echoes in my head. I stab another piece of egg and chew harder than necessary. “He will.”
“Yeah,” she says softly. “I know that.”
Silence stretches between us, and it’s strangely intimate. The music shifts to another song that's slower and more melancholic.
Adriana watches me eat for a moment, then sighs. “You did good yesterday.”
My fork stills. “Did I?” I ask.
She nods. “They’re not exactly gentle men. But you kept getting up.”
I glance at her. “That’s the bar now?”
Her mouth tightens. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you don’t care.” She hops off the counter and steps closer. “You’re still you. I see it.”
I almost laugh. She sees what she needs to see to cope with the fact that I'm disappearing. Before I can say anything else, my phone vibrates on the coffee table. My body reacts instantly—muscles locking, stomach dropping like I’ve missed a step on the stairs. I don’t even look at the screen yet. I already know.
Adriana does, too.
“Go on,” she says quietly. “Answer it.”
I pick up the phone.Nolan.I answer without bothering to speak.
“Be ready at four,” he says, ignoring my annoyance.
My grip tightens around the phone as I sigh through my nose. “Where? What am I doing?”
Adriana watches me, likely thinking how fucking stupid this is as well.
“Private event.”
“Is that all you’re going to tell me?” I ask, clenching a fist.
“Bring your guitar, boy. Alexei wants to introduce you to some people after your performance.”
The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone for a second longer than necessary before setting it down. My appetite is gone. “I have to fucking perform tonight.”